Chapter 41
. . .
Will
The headlights on my Ferrari are lit, the engine idling as I push through the door leading out to the players’ private parking lot and make my way toward Drew.
With no press responsibilities tonight and my excuses made to Coach and the guys about needing some personal time to rest after a grueling game, I’m eager to spend a night of fun with the girl who plays on my mind, even when I’m on the ice.
It’s been too many months of sneaking around, pretending like all we are to each other is business partners and friends. In reality, I’ve been in love with Drew Callaghan since way before the conscious side of my brain caught up.
Right from the moment I hauled her into my arms and carried her around the kitchen, making hot chocolate, I’ve agonized over how good it would be for us to wake up together every morning and go to sleep at night, reflecting on the day.
“Nice game tonight,” Drew greets me as I slide into the passenger seat in my Ferrari and feel my pulse race at the sight of her wearing my jersey.
“I’m going to need you to drive,” I say, closing my eyes slowly.
Drew just giggles, knowing precisely what the effect of her wearing my name while sitting behind the wheel of a supercar does to me.
“Where did you have in mind?” she questions, shifting into gear and revving the engine.
I lean across the center section and pull her earlobe between my teeth. It’s almost like she wanted to make her neck available to me tonight, with her hair piled on top of her head in a messy bun.
“Just drive. I’ll give you instructions as we go.”
She gasps, and I start scrolling through one of my playlists on the entertainment system selecting “At Last” by Etta James.
Drew’s eyes flare when I start singing the opening lyrics.
“I didn’t know you were into older music. O-or that you could sing.”
“Just full of surprises, eh?” I say as she pulls out of the parking lot and picks up speed.
I try to control the hard-on forming in my pants when she depresses the clutch, driving with two feet like a fucking pro.
“Let me guess.” She holds the steering wheel with one hand and taps her lips with the other. “Your parents secretly put you through drama school or something equally as flashy.”
I shake my head, and the music switches to John Legend’s “All of Me.”
“Nah, I think it’s the Welsh Canadian blood in me. Dad can sing, and so can June. Mom sounds like a wailing banshee every time she tries to form a note.”
Drew pushes her head back into the seat and laughs, and, fuck me, I’m so in love with this girl.
“So, where do you want to go?” she asks again when we approach a set of stoplights.
I point at the sign for I-90. “Take the ramp and keep driving.”
“For how long?”
Should I spill the secret now? Nah.
“For as long as it takes. Patience, Baby,” I reply sweetly, reaching out and smoothing a finger down her right arm. It’s covered with my jersey, although by the way she shivers at the contact, I’m confident her skin pebbles beneath it.
“All the way to the bridge across Lake Washington?”
I hesitate for a second before confirming, “Yes. All the way over the bridge until I tell you to stop.”
“Pull in here,” I instruct, pointing to a lit gravel track, set behind black iron gates.
Drew slows to a full stop and shifts into neutral, brows pulled together in deep thought. “Um, Will, where the hell are we?”
Butterflies swirl in my stomach. I’m never nervous, except when it comes to putting my heart in Drew’s hands and trusting her not to crush it.
Peering through the windshield, I wave at the security camera fixed to a pole beside the left gate. Gradually, the gates begin to open.
“Will …” Drew warns, eyes fixed on the opening gates.
Taking her chin between my thumb and forefinger, I turn her head to look at me. “On a scale of one to ten, how much do you love me?”
She rolls her eyes, and I kiss her.
“That all depends on whatever is hiding behind those gates.”
Brushing my mouth across hers, I revel in the way she whimpers at the slightest touch. “What if I told you that a few hundred yards down that gravel track is a house I just closed on for us?”
She pulls back, jaw popped open, eyes bursting from their sockets. “You’re kidding me!”
Since the car is keyless, I pick up the key chain and dangle the keys in front of her. “Did you not notice something different when my dad handed you these earlier?”
Drew studies them for a beat, and then it clicks. “Wait, what are those two black keys?” She takes them between her fingers. “Are these what I think they are?”
“Why don’t we find out?”
A few minutes later, we pull up outside a white double-fronted lake house set on at least two acres of land.
I won’t lie; this place cost me a fucking fortune, but when I drove past it on a random drive one day in October, I knew it was made for us.
It’s amazing how fast you can buy a place for the right price and a stack of cash waiting to go.
“I actually have goose bumps.” Drew’s voice is awestruck. Head shaking, she gazes out of the driver’s window.
I hop out of the car and round the hood, opening her door and holding out a hand.
She unclips her belt and kills the engine, stepping out of the car like she’s never seen a big house before. She absolutely has, but is too humble to act nonchalant.
“William, you are so freaking extra.”
I take her by the hips and pull her into my body. “Look at me.”
Blue eyes I’m obsessed with make my pulse race as I cup the nape of her neck with my hand.
“I bought this place because the second I saw it, I couldn’t stop thinking about boat rides across the lake or the tree swing set in the huge backyard. I could see you in the garden room on your laptop, slowly taking over the world while I brought you an endless supply of processed sugar.”
She snorts, and I press my forehead onto hers.
“If you don’t like the house, then I’ll sell it and buy something you do like.
I just want—no, I need—to wake up with you every morning in a place we can call our own.
Somewhere hidden away, like the café in the forest. Everyone knows that you’re my girl, but that doesn’t give them the right to witness every part of our relationship. ”
Excitement flashes in Drew’s eyes, although I detect a hint of uncertainty, and I pray that she isn’t having second thoughts about us.
“I want more than anything to live with you.” Drew interlaces her fingers through my spare hand. “But I just offered Vesper a place to live, and now I’d be moving out.”
Relief washes through me like a cool shower on a hot summer’s day. “Keep your place as an investment property. I’m sure Silas will do a good job entertaining your former roommate. He has her address after all.”
She balks at my knowing grin. “Wait. How did you know about that?”
I wink and bring my mouth to her ear. “I heard everything on the phone earlier today. One thing about me, Baby: I don’t miss a beat when it involves you.”
“Do you think they’re sleeping together? Vesper comes off like she kind of hates him, to be honest.”
I scrunch up my nose, doubtful. “Probably not.”
“I don’t know …” Drew sings as I guide her up the pathway leading to the large white porch, set in the center of an Edwardian-style frontage. “Hate sex is a thing, and they looked pretty flustered in my hallway.”
“Trust me,” I say as we reach the top step, and I guide her face back to mine before she gets a chance to peek through the glass front door.
I want to give her the guided tour and then take her on every surface we own.
“The way my captain looked when he burst into the locker room did not scream of a guy who had just shared a great time with a girl. More like one he wants to forget.”
Still holding her by the hand, I slowly turn her around so I can see my name where it belongs.
Where it was always supposed to be before either of us even knew it.
“How about I show you around your new palace? I need you to see the walk-in pantry. I reckon it has enough storage for a lifetime’s supply of sprinkles.”
She throws her arms around my neck, and like we’ve done a hundred times before, I loop my hands under her jean-covered ass, and she crosses her ankles at my lower back.
“You’re too good to me, Hotshot. Way too fucking good.”
We make out beneath the soft glow of the porch lighting, a couple of boats out on the lake and stars in a clear night sky above our heads.
“No, Drew,” I breathe into her mouth, heart thundering at a ridiculous pace. “This is just the way I’ll worship you each and every day. And for as long as you’ll have me, I promise to give you nothing less than the love you absolutely deserve.”